FOXBORO — Since Eliot Wolf and most of the Patriots’ scouting staff had never worked with Mike Vrabel nor evaluated players for his defense when they were paired together by owner Robert Kraft in January, the Patriots executive vice president of player personnel asked his new head coach to identify three games that encapsulated what the new defensive staff wanted its defense to embody.

Vrabel and vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher selected the games from their time with the Titans, and Wolf and the scouting staff got to work and watched them together to highlight free agents that would boost the roster in a much-needed rebuild.

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“That really helped us as we ultimately determined what type of players we wanted to target,” Wolf said in an exclusive interview with the Herald. “And then the coaching staff obviously helped out with the evals.”

The success and sudden turnaround of the 2025 Patriots has largely and rightly been credited to the ascension of Drake Maye and the leadership of Vrabel.

The Patriots wouldn’t be here without the move to stay put at No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to select their future franchise quarterback in Maye, nor without Kraft’s decision to move on from Jerod Mayo and hire Vrabel as head coach.

But the Patriots’ nearly flawless offseason has also played a considerable role in their rise from a team that finished consecutive seasons 4-13 to one that won the AFC East with a 14-3 record and is now another win away from playing in the AFC Championship Game.

“The players that we signed, for the most part, were all pretty well liked by both scouting and coaching,” Wolf said. “And that obviously makes it easier when you can come to a common conclusion like that.”

New England Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson celebrates a sack during the first quarter of a game earlier this season at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

FREE AGENCY SPLURGE

The Patriots signed 14 players from outside the organization in free agency last March with a total contract value of over $360 million. Twelve of those players remain on the roster today, and 11 of them started at least eight games this season.

The Patriots’ biggest signing came on the first day that free agency unofficially began, when legal tampering was allowed on March 10, netting defensive tackle Milton Williams to a four-year, $104 million deal. Williams was one of the few free agents who had no ties to the Patriots organization or their coaches. But the front office was assured that he could go from being a role player with the Eagles to a standout starter and leader with the Patriots.

“The first thing was the tape,” Wolf said. “I mean, just watching him, even though he hadn’t played in a full-time role, he made a pretty big impact in the role that he did have in Philadelphia, and obviously playing behind some great players there. So, it’s not like there’s some weird reason that he wasn’t playing more. And then really what we do, we go back to the college character and kind of make sure that that all checks out. And then obviously, talking to different people throughout the league just about these guys, and trying to find out kind of what drives them. We felt really confident that he was the right type of person to bring in here, even though he was one that maybe didn’t have the connections that some of the other ones did.”

The Patriots had already earmarked players like Williams and linebacker Robert Spillane (“really high-end players … that can fit in really any scheme”) over the course of the 2024 season while the team was pre-planning for free agency.

Vrabel and his staff then helped the front office identify other scheme fits, like outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson and cornerback Carlton Davis.

“(Chaisson) was on our radar because we were targeting some players defensively,” Vrabel said earlier this season. “Smitty (outside linebackers coach Mike Smith) came back with his review, I kind of came back with mine and I was like, ‘Alright, he plays hard, he’s got some speed and it looks like he tries to finish.’ And that’s what jumped off the screen, was the effort and the speed.”

Chaisson ascended above Keion White on the depth chart during training camp and rewarded his new team with a career-high seven sacks while playing on a one-year, $3 million contract. In last Sunday’s wild-card round win over the Chargers, Chaisson was a standout with two key sacks.

Williams and Chaisson were far from the only hits. Spillane, Davis, center Garrett Bradbury, right tackle Morgan Moses, outside linebacker Harold Landry and wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins were also signed this season and were immediately thrust into starting roles. Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and linebacker Jack Gibbens are role players who have each started eight games. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs has backed up Maye all season. The two that didn’t work out? Guard Wes Schweitzer retired during the spring, and Marcus Epps was cut but ended the season as a starter for the Eagles.

“I think we just targeted the right kind of people,” Wolf said. “People that were going to fit into Mike’s culture and what we wanted to build here. And we were able to acquire those guys, and obviously spend a lot of money, which we thank Mr. Kraft for. But we were able to target the right guys, and we were able to kind of come through on the ones that we thought would fit in with our team. And it’s been obviously successful to this point.”

Wolf acknowledged that he was pleasantly surprised by how well the free agency class performed as a whole, since it’s rare to have such a high hit rate.

Diggs added: “They brought in the right guys to do what they’re supposed to do. … They did enough scouting and researching. They put a lot of trust in guys, especially a guy like me coming off an injury, so they did their due diligence. So give him all the credit.”

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs runs onto the field before an NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season in Foxboro. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

HOW PATS WERE SOLD ON DIGGS

Diggs signed his three-year, $63.5 million deal with the Patriots later in the process on March 28.

He’s been a selfless team leader, and the team’s best pass-catching target this season for Maye. He didn’t necessarily arrive in New England with that reputation league-wide.

So, the Patriots consulted wide receivers coach Todd Downing, who had been on staff with Diggs with the Vikings. Vrabel had previously coached Diggs at the Pro Bowl. And the front office leaned on their connections throughout the league to talk to other people who had worked with Diggs on the Bills and Vikings.

“Really, what sold it for me was when he came in on the visit,” Wolf said. “He was what you guys see every day, like he was awesome, really professional about the right things. It was pretty, pretty genuine, too. So, that was cool.”

Wolf had little reservation about Diggs as a person.

It was more the fact that the four-time Pro Bowl selection had torn his ACL on Oct. 27, 2024, and was less than five months post-surgery.

“The whole time, my biggest hang-up was just how he was going to come off the injury,” Wolf said. “The other stuff, I wasn’t concerned about that. It was just, every injury is different. You hear an ACL, and it’s nine months. OK. But some of them don’t go as well. He really attacked the rehab and obviously got back maybe quicker than some people thought he would, and obviously was able to be effective from Week 1 on.”

Diggs finished his first season with the Patriots, registering his seventh 1,000-yard season, catching 85 passes on 102 targets for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns while playing all 17 games.

DRAFT DIFFERENCE

The Patriots scored big with Maye in the 2024 draft, but the rest of the class produced just 32 total snaps this season.

Second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk was traded to the Saints, guard Layden Robinson, wide receiver Javon Baker and tight end Jaheim Bell were all waived, cornerback Marcellas Dial suffered a season-ending torn ACL in training camp, and quarterback Joe Milton was traded in April.

The only remaining pick, outside of Maye, still on the 53-man roster, is backup guard Caedan Wallace, who played eight offensive snaps and 24 reps on special teams.

The 2025 draft class was significantly more successful. Left tackle Will Campbell, left guard Jared Wilson and safety Craig Woodson were Day 1 starters and kicker Andy Borregales and long snapper Julian Ashby contributed from Week 1. And running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Kyle Williams showed growth throughout the season. Ten of the Patriots’ 11 draft picks are on the current roster, and the 11th player, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, is on injured reserve.

So, what was the difference this year, in Wolf’s eyes?

“I think just having a vision of what we wanted the team to look like,” Wolf said. “Coach Vrabel’s vision is really clear and really being able to work together to try to accomplish that goal.”

In total, the Patriots have 14 rookies on their 53-man roster, including wide receiver Efton Chism, outside linebacker Elijah Ponder and defensive tackle Eric Gregory, all undrafted free agents.

Chism and Ponder are two other players, like Henderson and Williams, who have ascended late. Ponder has taken on a bigger role than fifth-round pick Bradyn Swinson at the same position.

Wolf revealed that the Patriots had both Chism and Ponder rated as draftable prospects and were in the conversation to be selected in the seventh round. Wolf credited the Patriots coaching staff and scouts with being able to seal the deal with both players.

“I thought it was pretty awesome that that our coaching staff and our scouts that were talking to the agents and talking to those guys did a tremendous job recruiting them, and selling the vision of what it would look like here,” Wolf said. “And ultimately, was really excited that we were able to sign those two guys. Like, the fact that those two guys, in particular, made the team is not surprising.”

SUCCESS FAST TRACKED?

Based on their schedule and the addition of Vrabel and key players on the roster, the Patriots were expected to improve this season.

After four wins in back-to-back seasons, their over/under win total was set around 7.5 entering the season. Oddsmakers and most fans and media members did not see a 14-win season coming.

But did this season get fast-tracked even based on expectations from people within the walls of Gillette Stadium?

“I would just say from when the players got here and I heard the way Mike talked to the players and coached the players, and not only Mike, but his entire staff, it’s been pretty special to watch,” Wolf said. “Would I have expected 14-3? Probably not. But the buy-in that these players got with the coaching staff has been pretty tremendous. And I think anything’s possible.”

The Patriots take on the Texans on Sunday evening in the divisional round of the playoffs. With a win, they would take on the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

In one short year, a franchise quarterback, smart coaching hires and savvy signings have revived a franchise.